There are two things in our fitness journey that never really tell the whole story, but yet we focus on them heavily. These two things are the scale and the amount of weight we lift. I think as humans we are probably obsessed with numbers as a measure of achievement. We count everything: how much money we make, the time it takes to get from one place to another, the amount of children we want, our age, calories in every bite, the days, weeks and months; we are always counting something.

I was skimming through Deepak Chopra’s book What Are You Hungry For?. It seems like a great book so far, and for those who fear it might be new agey, it’s not. The book is an easy read that assists people in learning to be mindful and aware of what they consume and the reasons for why they eat the way that they do. He has a Meditation Inventory that I think is important to consider for those of you who are on a journey to wellness. Here are the questions he poses:

• Do I feel lighter?
• Do I have more energy?
• Am I more settled?
• Are the hard things getting easier?
• Has my mood improved?
• Is my stress level lower?
• Have I had some inspiring moments?
• Do I feel more grateful?
• Do I appreciate my life more?
• Am I getting closer to those I love?
• Do I feel that I belong?
• Am I judging myself—and others—less than I used to?
• Am I more comfortable inside myself?
• Do I have inner peace?

I think these are necessary to ask ourselves in order to help gauge our health and wellness. It is best that our success is not measured strictly by numbers. Yes, it’s important for the scale to either decrease or increase, distances to be longer, speed to increase, and weights to get heavier. However, it is only one part of our success. What we do for physical fitness should influence other parts of our lives.

This sounds crazy, but I’ll tell you this anyways. I can’t play musical chairs, why? Because I become super competitive about a silly game and the next thing you know I’m hip-checking people and turning a cute little activity into some sort of combat sport. I play this game and anyone near me is on the ground and we are all wrestling and scrambling for the chair while the others stand there watching in horror.

Looking at the Meditation Inventory, I know that I need to improve in other areas. I’m getting physically stronger and developing more endurance, but it’s important to remember these need to be channeled into positivity in other areas of my life. What am I doing with the extra energy I have? Am I being more grateful for my improved health? Am I growing comfortable with my changing body? Self-Inventory never ends because we never stop learning about ourselves and the world around us.

I took 2 Corinthians 13:5-8 and applied it to the act of self-inventory.